Cannetille work around an aquamarine: wire coiled into lace. Antique Cannetille Aquamarine Necklace, 18K gold, Sweden 1921
Filigree is jewelry built from wire: threads of gold or silver, often twisted or braided, bent into scrolls and lattices and soldered into openwork that looks like lace. It is one of the oldest goldsmithing techniques on earth, thousands of years old, and one of the most labor-hungry, which is why fine old filigree is treasured and why true handmade filigree has become rare.
How is filigree actually made?
The goldsmith draws metal into fine wire, often twists two strands together for texture, then bends each tiny element with pliers against a pattern and solders the whole assembly, sometimes hundreds of joins, into a single airy structure. The skill is in the soldering: too much heat and the lace collapses, too little and it falls apart on the first wearing. Openwork this fine uses remarkably little metal for its size, which made filigree the historical way to make impressive jewelry affordable, and makes surviving antique examples light on the scale and big on presence.
Filigree, cannetille, openwork: what is the difference?
| Term | What it means | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Filigree | Ornament built from fine wires, soldered openwork | Everywhere from antiquity to Art Deco |
| Cannetille | Filigree's coiled form: wire wound into spirals, rosettes and cones | Early 1800s especially; gorgeous around colored stones |
| Pierced openwork | Holes cut or sawn from sheet metal, not built from wire | Edwardian and Deco "filigree" rings are usually this |
| Granulation | Tiny beads of gold fused to a surface | Ancient work and its Victorian revivals |
The last row of confusion is worth untangling: most 1920s "filigree engagement rings" are technically pierced work, sawn and engraved from white gold sheet or die-struck, not wire-built. Beautiful, collectible, and a different technique; the word has simply widened over time to cover all metal lace.
How do you judge the quality of old filigree?
Look at the joins and the ends. In fine work every wire lands somewhere deliberate, ends tucked, joins clean and small; in rushed work you find blobs of solder, wires that wander, and gaps where elements never quite met. Then check survival: filigree's beauty is its fragility, so run a fingertip gently over the surface and feel for loose or sprung wires, and hold it to the light to spot old repairs, which show as slightly different color or crude joins. A repaired piece can still be a good buy; an unrepaired one after a century is a small miracle and priced like it.
The sister crafts: hand engraving on an Edwardian ring, from the same workshops that built lace from wire. Edwardian Flower Engraved Ring, 18K gold, 1905
Is filigree jewelry valuable?
Handmade filigree is undervalued for the labor in it, which makes it one of the quiet bargains of antique jewelry. Because the technique uses little metal, weight-based pricing treats it unkindly; the value is in the hours, and the market only partly pays for them. What lifts prices: age and documentation, cannetille from the early 1800s, filigree framing fine stones, and regional masterwork traditions. What lowers them: damage, since repairs are fiddly, and the flood of modern machine-made "filigree look" pieces, which the loupe separates from handwork in seconds: machine wires are perfectly uniform, hand wires are almost perfect, and the almost is the signature.
Frequently asked questions
What does filigree mean?
From the Latin filum, thread: ornament built from fine wires of precious metal, soldered into openwork patterns like lace.
What is cannetille?
A filigree style where the wire is coiled into tight spirals, rosettes and beehive cones, at its peak in the early nineteenth century, often framing colored stones.
Are 1920s filigree rings real filigree?
Usually they are pierced and engraved white gold sheet rather than wire-built work. The look is lacy either way; the technique differs, and collectors use the word loosely for both.
Is filigree fragile?
It is stronger than it looks and weaker than solid metal. Wear it gladly, but keep it from snags and crushing, and store it padded with nothing on top.
Can broken filigree be repaired?
Yes, by a goldsmith comfortable with fine soldering; it is detail work and priced as such. Ask specifically whether they work with antique filigree before handing it over.
How do I clean filigree jewelry?
Gently and rarely: a soft brush and lukewarm soapy water for solid gold pieces, dried thoroughly since the openwork traps moisture. Never ultrasonic; vibration is exactly what old joins dislike.
Read next: What is Edwardian jewelry? · What is Art Deco jewelry? · How to clean antique jewelry safely
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